A FARNHAM family will hold a charity fun run with a twist next month to raise funds for the care of their terminally ill daughter.

Isabella Richards was born in March with Cri Du Chat, an extremely rare genetic condition that results from a tiny missing piece from every cell in her body.

She is blind and the condition slows her development to the extent that she will never crawl or walk. There is no treatment or cure and her parents Katie and William have been told she will likely live for at most five years.

However, specialist sensory equipment, chairs, bubble tubes and other equipment could make a big difference to Isabella’s short life, and the Traction Club in Aldershot will host a fundraising event on December 13.

People of all ages and fitness are invited to run, walk, hop or skip the mile-long assault course for £5 each - festive fancy dress optional - with all funds raised to contribute directly towards making Isabella’s life easier.

Katie, 29, told The Herald: “We didn’t find out until Isabella was born that something was wrong. She was induced at 38 weeks and went straight into intensive care, and then had the genetic tests.

“We’d never heard of Cri Du Chat and it was nothing to do with our genes - it was purely pot luck. Around one in 700 children are born with Down Syndrome, but just one in 50,000 have Cri Du Chat so it’s extremely rare.

“It felt terrible when we found out and it still does, but it’s opened our eyes to a world we didn’t know existed. She’s a happy little thing, but she will never walk or crawl and just lays there. She can’t hold herself up and so needs things to help her.

“Frimley Park Hospital has been amazing, but there’s no treatment for the condition so all of our effort has gone into raising money for specialist equipment to make Isabella’s life that little bit easier while she’s still here.”

More than 1,200 people are following ‘Isabella’s Cri Du Chat Journey’ on Facebook, and Katie and William;s friend Toni Louise Greenway has helped raised hundreds of pounds for Isabella’s care by selling sweet cones and placing collection boxes in pubs and shops.

To register for the fun run on December 13 or for more information, email [email protected].